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U.S. Officials Say Superyacht Could be Putin’s

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U.S. Officials Say Superyacht Could be Putin’s

WASHINGTON — American officers are inspecting the possession of a $700 million superyacht at the moment in a dry dock at an Italian seacoast city, and imagine it may very well be related to President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia, in keeping with a number of folks briefed on the data.

United States intelligence companies have made no remaining conclusions in regards to the possession of the superyacht — known as the Scheherazade — however American officers stated that they had discovered preliminary indications that it was linked to Mr. Putin. The data from the U.S. officers got here after The New York Instances reported on Tuesday that Italian authorities have been wanting into the 459-foot lengthy vessel’s possession and {that a} former crew member stated it was for using Mr. Putin.

Folks briefed on the intelligence wouldn’t describe what data that they had that indicated the superyacht is related to Mr. Putin. If American officers know whether or not or how typically Mr. Putin makes use of the yacht, the folks briefed on the data wouldn’t share it.

American officers stated Mr. Putin stored little of his wealth in his personal identify. As an alternative he makes use of houses and boats nominally owned by Russian oligarchs. Nonetheless, it’s attainable that via numerous shell corporations, Mr. Putin might have extra direct management of the Scheherazade.

All through the coronavirus pandemic Mr. Putin has additionally spent giant quantities of time within the Russian resort metropolis of Sochi on the Black Sea, U.S. officers stated. The Scheherazade made journeys to Sochi within the summers of 2020 and 2021.

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Each the Treasury Division’s Workplace of Intelligence and Evaluation and the Navy’s Workplace of Naval Intelligence are investigating the possession of superyachts related to Russian oligarchs. A spokesman for the Navy and a spokeswoman for the Treasury each declined to remark.

The Justice Division has arrange a process pressure to go after the property of sanctioned Russian oligarchs. In a dialogue with reporters on Friday, a Justice Division official stated the duty pressure can be investigating people who assist sanctioned Russian officers or oligarchs cover their property. These people might face costs associated to sanctions violations or worldwide cash laundering costs.

As well as, below just lately printed Commerce Division rule adjustments, if greater than 25 % of a airplane or a yacht is fabricated from U.S.-manufactured airplane or marine components, it can not go to Russia.

If a yacht is abroad and meets the definition of a U.S.-origin or U.S.-made product, it might want a license to go to Russia. To really seize a yacht, america would want to coordinate with a cooperative overseas authorities — Italy, within the case of the Scheherazade — to forestall the ship from transferring to Russian waters.

Some superyachts moved out of European waters because the invasion of Ukraine started and the West started imposing sanctions permitting asset seizures. The Scheherazade is present process repairs in Marina di Carrara, a port in Tuscany, and as of earlier this week was in dry dock, unable to get underway.

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Man Bennett-Pearce, the Scheherazade’s captain, stated earlier this week that Mr. Putin was not the proprietor of the superyacht and that the Russian president had not set foot on it.

He declined to offer the identify of the proprietor, saying on Monday solely that it was not anybody going through sanctions. Captain Bennett-Pearce didn’t reply his cellphone on Friday or reply to a textual content message.

Final week, Italian authorities boarded the Scheherazade and examined certification paperwork, in search of to study extra in regards to the vessel’s possession. Captain Bennett-Pearce stated earlier this week that he would supply the Italian police with paperwork that divulged the yacht’s proprietor.

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Italian authorities stated they have been taking a deep have a look at the Scheherazade. Beneath a course of which will take so long as a few weeks, Italy’s monetary police will collect proof and current it to a authorities committee, which is able to then resolve whether or not possession or use of the ship is linked to somebody on the sanctions listing.

That connection may very well be outright possession of a good portion of the ship, or proof {that a} pal, underling or affiliate lent his or her identify to cover the sanctioned particular person’s possession, or that funds used to purchase the ship got here from unlawful earnings. If the committee finds that the proof meets the brink, the monetary police can impound the Scheherazade.

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The Italian Sea Group, which owns the shipyard the place the Scheherazade is dry-docked, stated in a press release on Thursday that primarily based on paperwork it had and “checks carried out by the related authorities,” the Scheherazade “shouldn’t be attributable to the property of Russian President Vladimir Putin.”

American officers have been stepping up their examination of the superyachts of Russian oligarchs, significantly as america and Europe have imposed extra sanctions towards the rich households that help Mr. Putin.

The German-built Scheherazade has been in service since June 2020. The web site SuperYachtFan estimated that it value $700 million. The ship has a full-size gymnasium, two helicopter decks and gold-plated fixtures within the washrooms.

Whereas American intelligence officers have been wanting on the Scheherazade, the scrutiny has elevated after the publication of the sooner article in The Instances.

The Scheherazade seems to have a sister ship, the Crescent, constructed by the identical German producer and put into service in 2018. The Crescent’s mission identify when it was below development was “Thunder.” The Scheherazade’s was “Lightning.”

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Just like the Scheherazade, there isn’t any public data figuring out the ship’s proprietor, apart from an offshore shell firm. The Crescent final broadcast its place on Nov. 2, when it gave the impression to be approaching Barcelona, Spain. Satellite tv for pc photographs present that as of March 4 it was moored at a marina catering to superyachts there. Each vessels are registered within the Cayman Islands and each share the identical designer.

Katie Benner contributed reporting from Washington, Christoph Koettl from New York, and Gaia Pianigiani from Siena, Italy.

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.” 

“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote. 

Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.

TRUMP SAYS MEXICO WILL STOP FLOW OF MIGRANTS AFTER SPEAKING WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TARIFF THREATS

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It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.

U.S. Border Patrol agents cut an opening through razor wire after immigrant families crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.

LIBERAL NANTUCKET REELS FROM MIGRANT CRIME WAVE AS BIDEN SPENDS THANKSGIVING IN RICH FRIEND’S MANSION

Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.

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TEXAS BORDER RAZOR WIRE

A Venezuelan immigrant asks Texas National Guard troops to let his family pass through razor wire after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.” 

“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”

Texas border

Migrants attempt to cross the southern border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in February. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration. 

In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.

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The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”

Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”

Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.

In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.

She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”

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“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.

Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.

Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.

The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.

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Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.

Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”

The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”

Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.

One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.

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Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.

Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously. 

“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family. 

“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”

Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump. 

HARRIS NEVER LED TRUMP, INTERNAL POLLS SHOWED — BUT DNC OFFICIALS WERE KEPT IN THE DARK

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President Elect Donald Trump, left, and new appointed Tom Homan, right (Getty)

“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”

Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.

ARMED FELON ARRESTED FOR THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP ATTENDED RALLY WEEKS AFTER BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Donald Trump in a blue suit and red tie pumps his fist in the air and looks up

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

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“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.” 

Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted. 

Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family. 

Trump holds fist

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.  Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”

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“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”

Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”

“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”

The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report

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